Georgia plays host to No. 23 Arkansas

Jan 6, 2015 - 3:32 PM Athens, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Back in the national rankings for the third time this season, 23rd-ranked Arkansas goes up against the Georgia Bulldogs in an SEC showdown on Tuesday evening at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Razorbacks are 10-0 at home, but just 1-2 on the floors of opponents, the lone road win coming against SMU, 78-72, back in November. The only two setbacks suffered by Arkansas came in back-to-back efforts versus Iowa State and Clemson, the latter going to overtime.

Since bowing to the Tigers the first week of December, Arkansas has responded with five consecutive wins, the latest of those coming against Utah Valley over the weekend, 79-46.

As for the Bulldogs, they too are off to a strong start to the season with nine wins in 12 chances. Since falling to Minnesota (66-62) during the NIT Season Tip-Off in New York in late November, Georgia has come out on top in six straight decisions, the latest being a 63-50 triumph over Norfolk State on Saturday.

The Razorbacks lead the all-time series with Georgia by a count of 18-14, with the squads splitting two regular-season meetings in 2013-14 as each home team put a tally in the win column.

The defense for Arkansas was all over Utah Valley, limiting the visitors to just eight field goals in the first half and nine after the break, all while forcing 15 turnovers and crushing the competition on the glass by a 55-30 margin. Alandise Harris came off the bench to post 17 points and five rebounds in just 15 minutes, while Bobby Portis came up a rebound shy of a double- double with his 12 points. The same goes for Michael Qualls who tallied 11 points, followed by Moses Kingsley with 10.

For one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation (84.5 ppg), the Hogs are feeding off Portis and Qualls who have generated 16.8 and 15.4 ppg, respectively. Portis is not only shooting 56.8 percent from the field, he also paces the program on the glass with 7.8 rpg, which is close to what the rebounding margin is for Arkansas over the competition. Rashad Madden (10.3 ppg) has had his moments scoring the ball, but he is perhaps more recognized for his 70 assists in 13 games.

Like Arkansas, the Bulldogs also put their best foot forward from a defensive standpoint as they held Norfolk State to just eight field goals in the first half and 29.2 percent success from the floor overall. At the other end of the floor, reserve J.J. Frazier lit up the scoreboard with a career-high 20 points as he converted 4-of-5 shots behind the 3-point line and 7-of-8 from the field overall. Charles Mann produced a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, adding four assists along the way.

One of only two players to have started all 12 games for the Bulldogs, Marcus Thornton finds himself at the top of the scoring list with 13.7 ppg and is also tops with 7.2 rpg, although having just 11 assists and 58.9 percent accuracy at the free-throw line can be seen as a drawback. Mann (12.7 ppg), Kenny Gaines (11.3 ppg) and Nemi Djurisic (10.9 ppg) help to push Georgia to 71.8 ppg.